This invention concerns radio frequency identification devices for identifying persons or objects and particularly concerns a secure radio frequency identification device for identity booklet or object to be identified.
Contactless Radiofrequency Identification Devices (RFIDs) are increasingly used for identification of persons moving about in controlled access zones or transiting from one zone to another or for identification of objects. A contactless RFID is a device made up of an antenna and a chip connected to the antenna. The chip is usually not powered and receives its energy through an electromagnetic coupling between the antenna of the reader and the antenna of the RFID. Information is exchanged between the RFID and the reader and particularly information stored in the chip. This information may also relate to the identification of the holder of the personalized object on which the RFID is located and his/her authorization to enter into a controlled access zone for example, or it can relate to the identification of an object and the management of its transportation from the production site to the place of sale, for example.
Thus, contactless RFIDs can be incorporated into identity booklets such as passports for identifying their holders. The chip memory contains information such as the identity of the passport holder, his/her country of origin, his/her nationality, visas of different countries visited, dates of entry, restrictions of movements, etc. Such a passport is described in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,222 and in the patent application WO/00/26856. In these documents, the RFID is incorporated into the passport's top cover board. It is usually inserted between the reinforced cover board and the flyleaf of the quire of passport pages, which is laminated to the back of the reinforced top cover board.
Unfortunately, it is relatively easy for a fraudulent individual to tamper with such a passport and make a forged passport from it. The fraudulent individual simply needs to remove the flyleaf to have access to the RFID and to, either replace the cover by a new cover including another RFID, or merely replace the chip by another chip so that the information supplied by the RFID corresponds to the information contained in the forged passport.
This is why the object of the invention is to provide a RFID linked securely to the object such that it cannot be removed from the object and be replaced by another.